Bryan Adams named as Big Issue ambassador: ‘Keep fighting the fight’

Canadian rocker Bryan Adams has joined Big Issue’s mission to dismantle poverty as the magazine turns 35.

Adams, who was top of the charts with (Everything I Do) I Do It For You when the Big Issue published its first edition, becomes an official ambassador for the social enterprise, raising awareness of its ongoing mission to support people in extreme poverty with earning and training opportunities. 

In 2019, Adams published Homeless, a photobook of intimate portraits of Big Issue vendors and other people experiencing homelessness. Proceeds from book sales and the subsequent exhibition were donated to Big Issue. Now he joins their official ambassador roster to continue his support for their work. 

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New Big Issue Ambassador Bryan Adams said: “I want people to understand that when they see a Big Issue vendor, they see someone selling the Big Issue, how important it is to contribute if you can. Because you are helping somebody who is trying to help themselves. Big kudos to Big Issue for everything you do. 

“What the Big Issue does is so great. And I want to be able to be there to support as much as I can. So keep fighting the fight.” 

Big Issue was first launched in London on 11 September 1991 and has gone on to be a publishing revolution over the past 35 years.

Since then, it has been sold on Britain’s high streets by more than 110,000 people experiencing financial hardship, including many rough sleepers.

They buy their magazine stock at cut price and sell it at the cover price, keeping the profit as income.

Big Issue vendors have earned more than £162 million since 1991, with 233 million copies sold across the UK. 

Adams speaks to Big Issue in this week’s special commemorative magazine.

He’s joined by prime minister Andy Burnham, who speaks to Big Issue to explain more about his plan to offer rough sleepers a route off the streets by Christmas.

It’s testament to Big Issue’s enduring work to combat poverty and homelessness.

Lord John Bird, the founder of the Big Issue, said: “Thirty-five years ago, on the double yellow lines of London’s West End, a simple but radical idea took hold. The Big Issue was created as a way for people facing poverty and homelessness to earn, be in control, and stand tall.  

“We weren’t interested in handouts. The Big Issue has always focused on hand-ups, on providing opportunities for people to rebuild their lives. All these years later, we’ve never changed that trajectory. That same ethos has been carried into new opportunity engines – our social investor Big Issue Invest, our recruitment service Big Issue Recruit, and more.  

“Happy birthday Big Issue. God bless anyone who has ever sold or bought a copy.”

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